Scholarship
Postdoctoral Fellowships
To advance the careers of recently-minted Ph.D.s in History, Political Science, and Government, the Kinder Institute sponsors a number of postdoctoral fellows each year in Political History and Political Thought. The postdoctoral fellowships are one-year appointments, typically with the possibility of renewal for a second and potentially a third year, and they provide recipients with office space at the Kinder Institute, a vibrant intellectual community with which to share research, and the opportunity to teach and develop undergraduate courses for the Institute’s new B.A. in Constitutional Democracy, as well as for MU’s B.A. programs in History and Political Science.
Overview
The Kinder Institute’s postdoctoral fellowships program is designed to provide fellows with the time and resources needed to work on article and book projects and the opportunity to gain additional experience in the classroom. Moreover, our postdoctoral fellows are integral parts of the overall scholarly community at the Kinder Institute, presenting their work to colleagues on campus and around the region and engaging—as presenters, discussants, or participants—in the array of academic workshops, seminars, and conferences that the Kinder Institute regularly hosts.
In the classroom, our postdoctoral fellows will have the chance to lead small, seminar-style courses that are part of the required core curriculum for the Kinder Institute’s B.A. in Constitutional Democracy, such as “The Revolutionary Transformation of America” or “Intellectual World of the American Founders.” There will likewise be opportunities to design small topics courses for the major, as well as the degree’s writing intensive senior seminar. In the past, postdocs have developed and led courses on “19th Century Atlantic Revolutions,” “Music and Politics in U.S. History,” and the political thought of W. E. B. Du Bois.
Eligibility
Applicants must have a Ph.D. by the beginning of the fellowship’s August 1 start date, though priority will be given to applicants who have completed their Ph.D. by the end of the previous spring semester. Application materials will include a cover letter describing candidates’ past and present research and teaching and a current CV. Two letters of recommendation should be sent separately to the listed contact for application submission.
Please note that University of Missouri also requires official transcripts for postdoctoral fellows in order to complete the hiring process.
Past Kinder Institute Postdoctoral Fellows
Former postdoctoral fellows at the Kinder Institute have gone on to receive tenure-track jobs at York College (PA), Sweetbriar College, Augustana University, Arizona State University, and Sam Houston State University, among other places. We also have postdocs now serving in leading editorial positions with the James Madison Papers (at UVa) and the Andrew Jackson Papers (at University of Tennessee).